Director Suneel Darshan retains his well-honed emotional sensibilities at key effective moments, as well as his trademark ear for good music and his belief in songs being integral in telling the story of a movie. But he tones down the melodrama bigtime, uses a new editing style that is neither too hip nor too dated, and substitutes the cooler sound of Himesh Reshammiya for the slower Nadeem-Shravan of his previous movies. He also gets fairly good performances out of a mostly new, but talented, star cast.
I watched this on DVD a few days ago and loved it! As some may know already from my previous reviews, I am a fan of the Suneel Darshan brand of cinema based in emotion and in meaningful songs. So yes, I'm biased -- but I feel that I'm being honest when I say that this is a good movie, way way better than the critics give it credit for and than its box office fate would suggest. It certainly beats some of the Yash Raj fluff like "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" in my book. I had originally budgeted myself four days to watch the movie, but ended up finishing it in two as I could not tear myself away from the screen. (It also helped that the movie has a short 2-hour running time, not wasting a minute and responsibly edited.)
The story in the movie is different, not the same old love story, same old family melodrama, dumb slapstick comedy, or meaningless action movie -- inspired by, but not slavish to or merely copying, the movie "Amadeus." The power play in the music industry portrayed here is both gripping and, to me, believable. I think there are parallels from the story to real life in the way certain directors or actors become blacklisted in the Hindi film industry and its associated media because of fear of someone's No. 1 status being taken away by superior new talent, or because of perceived humiliations and slights. I think Suneel Darshan himself may relate to that struggle, as he finds himself seemingly cast aside by some as old guard, and so too from another angle might some of the young actors, who do fine work in this movie, relate as their work is ignored for the latest retread movie with a big-name actor which has way better publicity. Thiis genuineness of the theme, and the likely relevance of the movie to the people making it, are part of what makes the movie work so well for me.
Further, the movie is not typical Bollywood in being gray-shaded. Neither of the two lead male characters who are in conflict is wholly sympathetic or wholly villainous. It's hard to say who I rooted for more and who I rooted for less. They were both wrong. I liked being able to see things from both characters' views.
Don't get me wrong though, this movie is primarily entertainment, with romance, comedy, drama, and the trademark Suneel Darshan emphasis on great songs telling a story. It's not a super-meaningful movie or an issues movie, and it doesn't claim to be! I just think the story is a worthy one.
As I've already mentioned in this review, the songs propel the story forward. This is a strength of any Suneel Darshan movie. For example, Bobby Deol's character AJ sees Upen Patel's character Reggie for the first time in the picturization for "Dil Lagayenge, " and the seeds of both appreciation for Reggie's talent and jealousy/insecurity form here; the same picturization also introduces (tastefully) the fact that Reggie and Celina Jaitley's character Sheena have a sexual relationship. A song medley faceoff about 20-30 minutes later also is crucial plot-wise. My favorite song and favorite picturization, "Thade Vaste", is perhaps less important in propelling the story, but establishes Reggie's love and respect for both his father (played by Anupam Kher in a short, but very effective, appearance) and for Kangana Ranaut's character Ruhi, which we keep in mind despite Reggie's later actions when angry and bitter.
Acting-wise, the movie is also strong. The acting of Bobby Deol in his part-sympathetic, part-villainous role is great -- believable throughout, and mostly subtle but with some good "villain faces", as one follows his transformation from well-meaning to embittered and vengeful. Upen Patel is good for a newcomer, and improves steadily as the movie progresses. He seems kind of one-note-arrogant and a little scummy looking at the beginning, but in the second half displays a wide range from the expressive exuberance of "Thade Vaste" to the subtle heartbreak of "Namumkin", and is especially effective when his character is sick, portraying his illness and passion for music and gratitude to AJ. His best scene is probably when his character apologizes to AJ. Patel is also a great dancer, which was already evident in his previous movie "36 China Town." Kangana Ranaut does well for her first glamorous, commercial role, particularly when she is concerned for Reggie or standing up to him to try to get him to see sense, and also in the songs. Celina Jaitley makes an impact as a powerful and sexy businesswoman, despite having few scenes. The supporting actors such as Dalip Tahil and the aforementioned Anupam Kher, and a whole bunch I don't know the names of, are also good.
There are lots of effective scenes in the movie -- from the opening where someone is putting a CD into a player (right away you know this is not the same old Suneel Darshan movie) and the bouncy credits sequence (albeit clearly South Africa and not New York despite the movie supposedly being set in the US) where regular folks say "Shakalaka Boom Boom", to the mysterious opening with AJ staring down his guru after his 7th consecutive hit is announced by the media, to, after a bit of a lull, Upen arriving on scene with "Dil Lagayenge", to the humiliation of AJ in the studio where you see both the talent of AJ and the freshness of Reggie, to a hilarious sequence where Ruhi thinks Reggie is a serial killer stalking her, to Reggie's dad's parting speech to him at the airport about needing to apologize for bitter words (so well acted by Anupam Kher), to Reggie reflecting on his past with his father, to Reggie's drunk scenes, to Ruhi's departure, to Reggie's composition while ill, to hospital scenes (including one with no sound), to AJ in a dream version of Hell attacked by demons (pretty good special effects!), and yes, even a shocker with a disco ball dropping that I've seen mocked elsewhere.
The ending is abrupt but is probably just. On balance I would consider it a happy ending, but it also left me thinking, which I think is a good thing.
I do have a few complaints. The subplot with the music mogul's wife having an affair with AJ is only half-developed, and then abandoned once it serves its plot purpose. The US setting is not that convincing. The friend character Paddy is not developed.
But, overall, awesome movie!
You may like this if you like: Suneel Darshan movies, Bobby Deol, Upen Patel, songs being integral in advancing a movie's story, a different story, Himesh's music
P.S.: Must also give a nod to Manish Malhotra's great taste in costumes! They fit the characters' personaliities well.
